Sandy Hook Responders to Receive $2.5M for Expenses

(CN) – The Justice Department announced Wednesday that it will give $2.5 million to Connecticut police agencies that helped respond to last year’s Sandy Hook Elementary School shootings that killed 20 children. The money will be distributed among the Connecticut State Police, the towns of Newtown and Monroe, and various partner agencies to reimburse them for their costs in overtime, forensics and security during and after the crime. On Dec. 14, Adam Lanza, 20, shot and killed his mother at their Newtown home before opening fire at the elementary school and killing 20 students, ages 6 and 7, and six adults. Lanza then took his own life. “Providing support to the law enforcement agencies that responded to the horrific scene that awaited them at Sandy Hook Elementary School is one small action we can take to bring healing to a community that’s been devastated,” Attorney General Eric Holder said in a statement. “Just over eight months after this senseless tragedy, those who lost their lives, and those who continue to grieve, remain in our thoughts and prayers.” Deirdre M. Daly, acting U.S. attorney for the Connecticut district, said this “critical funding” will compensate law enforcement agencies “for their tireless work investigating this crime, as well as more than two dozen police departments from across the state whose officers responded to Newtown within minutes of this horrific act and, for months, helped to provide security and comfort to a courageous community.” Holder said the Connecticut State Police will receive $663,444; $602,293 will go to Newtown and $882,812 to Monroe; and their partner agencies will receive a total of $296,836.